21 Facts About Hugh Allan

Sir Hugh Allan was a Scottish-Canadian shipping magnate, financier and capitalist.

Hugh Allan was responsible for transporting millions of British immigrants to Canada, and the businesses that he established from Montreal filtered across every sphere of Canadian life, cementing his reputation as an empire builder.

Hugh Allan was a first cousin of Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, and his father was a first cousin of the Scottish bard, Robert Burns.

In 1819, Hugh Allan's father established the Hugh Allan Shipping Line, which became synonymous with transporting goods and passengers between Scotland and Montreal.

In 1851, Hugh Allan had been elected President of the Montreal Board of Trade.

The service, Hugh Allan declared, would deliver Royal Mail to both sides of the Atlantic Ocean while transporting immigrants to North America.

However, the consortium that won the contract, headed by Samuel Cunard, ran into trouble almost immediately and Hugh Allan reacted by building more ships on the Clyde, using superior technology.

Beyond mail and emigrating passengers, the Hugh Allan Line carried royalty, troops, general cargo, manufactured goods and much needed Canadian wheat to Britain.

Hugh Allan helped to place trusted colleagues in senior positions with railways connected to the venture.

Hugh Allan himself invested heavily, particularly in those that would link the Port of Montreal to the Canadian West, and he became president of the Montreal Northern Colonization Railway in 1871.

Hugh Allan was reckoned the most influential capitalist in 1870s Canada, and having staved off American interest in the Pacific Railway, he was the logical choice for winning the contract.

Hugh Allan created a syndicate to build the national railway, promised as a condition of British Columbia joining Confederation.

Hugh Allan held significant shares in the Commercial Bank of Canada, the Bank of Upper Canada, the Maritime Bank of the Dominion of Canada, and the City Bank of Montreal.

Hugh Allan was a director of the Montreal Credit Company and president of the Provincial Permanent Building Society, which became the Provincial Loan Company in 1875.

Hugh Allan founded Merchant's Bank of Canada in Montreal in 1864, with a capital of $6.78 million and a reserve fund of $6.8 million.

Hugh Allan served as president of the bank until his death, when he was succeeded by his brother, Andrew.

Hugh Allan had interests in new communications technology, manufacturing, and mining.

Hugh Allan established coal mines in Nova Scotia and factories for textiles, shoes, paper, tobacco, and iron and steel in Central Canada.

In 1860, Hugh Allan bought part of the estate of Simon McTavish and demolished the old manor house to make way for his new home, Ravenscrag, a sumptuous Italian Renaissance style house and the principal residence of the Golden Square Mile.

In 1871, Hugh Allan was created a Knight Bachelor by Queen Victoria for his services in connection with the development of ocean steam navigation in Canada.

Hugh Allan's remains were brought back to Montreal, and he was buried with his family at the Mount Royal Cemetery.